Sad day for Portsmouth.

Very sad

What a great day! The sleeping giant has awoken! We will no longer sit by idle, while the special interest tools have their way with our pocket books!

Vote on November 2nd for Dan Gordon
Candidate for RI House of Reps., Dist. 71

I am so incredibly saddened that 2,198 adults in our community do not care about the education the children in Portsmouth will receive once the cuts really begin. I hope this is a wakeup call and the Republicans running for office in November, who have publicly stated their animosity toward our school system, never make it through the doors of the Portsmouth Town Hall. Enough is enough and we NEED to do what is right come November. The PCC is on a mission to decimate our schools. Are we really just going to stand by and let them destroy the futures of the children of Portsmouth? I certainly hope not.

Time for the Teacher's Union (monopoly) to wake up and join the real world where people PAY for their family's health insurance - if they're lucky enough to have any at all. BTW, 2040 hours of work is a FULL time job - not what our teachers work. PROFESSIONALS work until the job gets done - not clocking out in early afternoon and taking the summer off. Why are there ANY high school dropouts in Portsmouth? Why are there ANY failing grades? Who is failing - the child or the teacher who couldn't do their job ... oh, yeah - right ... time for their Union required "break" ... & forget about help outside of their core hours ... The teachers' hands are tied. This isn't Ford Motors - we're not banging out an Edsel under the shop steward's roving eye ... we're creating our future! If we can't make education work in the town like Portsmouth, what chance does a community like Central Falls or Woonsocket have?

Yes, Sue...it is all opinion. Tell you what...come clean about the TRUTH, and I'll shut down my business if elected...I'll work TRIPLE TIME for the $14K /year paid by the taxpayers for a part-time legislator. Here it is in writing...all you have to do is tell the truth and the deal is done!

The people of Portsmouth have spoken and their vote should be celebrated today. Unlike the rest of us in Corporate America the employees of Portsmouth schools benefit from rock bottom self-funded healthcare contributions, the lack of a typical $500 deductible for health insurance, a pension and spending well in excess of inflation. I ask any citizen of Rhode Island to tour the facilities of all other school districts in the state versus Porstmouth as well as the funding of this school system compared to others in the state and then conclude if this school district is needy. Just like virtually every other problem in this state lack of fiscal responsiblity goes back to the greedy needs of a union. In this case the Teacher's Union. If the Portsmouth school system was run like Corporation, spending would need to be controlled, and accountability would be required for performance and in the long run our students would benefit. No longer would union employees hide behind, the term tenured teacher. Our students needs and programs should not be pawned in the interest of the Teacher's Union. I applaud a candidate like Dan Gordon, who is concerned about the Portsmouth taxpayer and is not afraid to stand up to the Teacher's Union. He is obviously a fearless man of integrity. In regards to the following quote, please check this candidate's largest source of campaign funding, before voting. The record speaks for itself - "I think people were misinformed," said Rep. Amy Rice.

Just wondering ... are retired teachers still Union members? Since many teacher contract negotiations and awards are based on what the OTHER RI districts have approved for their members ... do those contracts directly affect the benefits of their RETIRED members ? If you are an active or retired teacher (or someone in your household / family is) ... should you be allowed to sit on any School Commitee? Does anyone see that this might be a conflict of interest? (Something PROFESSIONAL persons don't engage in... they excuse themselves.) Just wondering ... always open to hearing both sides ...

I want to make clear one reason this town and many others are in this financial postition and why we fight amongst ourselves when we should be focused on something entirely different. DURING THE 1990's, AS A SOCIETY, WE POISONED 40 MILLION CHILDREN WITH THE SECOND MOST TOXIC ELEMENT ON EARTH - MERCURY! This mass poisoning gave rise to the epidemics of autism, ADD, ADHD as well as other chronic childhood diseases. Our children received this NEVER before safety tested neurotoxin through their immunizations. So far, the brunt of this epidemic (other than the affected children and their parents) has fallen on the special ed dept to care and educate this most chronically ill generation of children we have ever seen. One in six kids have an IEP placing them in special education. We have seen the special ed budget increase dramatically, and yet, it is still not enough to cope with this onslaught of children who cannot think straight because, as a society, we injured their brains before they were two years old. I realize this is hard to accept, but these are the simple facts and we must incorporate this tragedy into the context of whatever solution we need create for this generation. Sadly, we continue to poison children and adults alike, because, while mercury has been reduced to trace amounts in most childhood vaccines, it still remains in the flu shot which the CDC recommends for pregnant women and children older than 6 months of age. First, we must stop the poisoning!

This is a very sad day for our kids and their education!!! I am speechless and appalled that so many people in Portsmouth don't care about the education of the children living here-OUR FUTURE!!!!!! The School System was the main reason my husdand and I wanted to raise our kids here,I think people will think twice now before settling into Portsmouth, I know I am.

I am a former teacher. I know how tough the job can be. But I also know that my family is struggling to keep up in this economy. We have had no choice but to deal with the salary cutbacks and the resulting effect on our lives. My vote was based on a reality check. Our community has to find ways to deal with this economy the way our family has. In truth, it wasn't the increase, which I agree was rather small. It was more the philosopy of understanding it's time to stop, reevaluate and learn to live within your budget. I wish we had the health care benefits I'm working to pay so that others can have it. Show me greater effort...do what we've had to do...pay a good percentage of your health care, go without a raise for 3 years and still keep doing the job with passion and committment.

I find it interesting how Mr. Gordon finds it appalling that people with noble professions, such as teachers should have decent benefits. How is Portsmouth to attract top quality talent in their teaching pool if we don't have competitive salary/benefit packages? One might think a small business owner and candidate for office would understand this theory. Just to put it in perspective, the current benefits package pales in comparison to that of many other "100% tax funded" positions. Secret service, military, NSA are just a few. Those are also much bigger pools of tax money to go after. After teachers, I'd imagine that Mr. Gordon will seek to minimize the benefits for those roles too, assuming he can find within himself the perseverance and business sense to secure shoes without holes in them first.

Great job PCC, now we even get international recognition for your efforts to gut the educational system in Portsmouth....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/world_news_america/9046399.stm

Bravo Alan Corcoran! You maintained your dignity in commenting in this forum where others failed miserably.

I'm wondering why SOS felt that it was necessary to spend almost $17,000 of Portsmouth tax dollars for a special election in Oct. when they could have had it on the ballot in Nov.?

Save Our Schools (SOS) is consistently politically out maneuvered by the PCC. Organization and leadership is needed by SOS to achieve its goals. It gets old to hear that whenever the PCC is victorious the SOS complains that the voters are misinformed. Get people informed and get them to vote. Perhaps it is time for new leadership for SOS.

After reading the comments above I just had to weigh in on this situation. I have 2 school age children and 1 more that will be entering our public school system in 2 years. I care about their education and their future more than words can express. I am also a 3rd generation Portsmouth resident so I feel especially vested in this town and its future. That all being said, my vote was no. Not because $72.00 would cause my family serious financial hardship, as it would some of our LIFE LONG senior residents and not because I am interested in PCC or SOS. I vote NO simply because I do not trust those with their hands on the checkbook.

Dear Portsmouth Students,
We let you down today. In fact it was our 3rd loss in a row. Portsmouth as a town has again sent the message that education is not a priority when weighed against an increasing individual tax bill. As a result, you will continue to see programs lost and less help in the schools, and few opportunities to diversify your studies. You will also see more kids in each class. The quality of the education that we can give you as a town is going to suffer. It is going to go down. Oh well they say, we can’t afford it. I think they are wrong, I think we can afford it, I think as a town we have chosen not to.
As a student if you are extremely smart and dedicated to your studies, you should consider private schools or moving, we just cannot afford to challenge you and give you the programs in which you will thrive. If you are not that bright, or you just need some extra help or direction, private schools may not be an option, but you to, might consider moving to a town where you can get the support and guidance that you need – you may not find it in Portsmouth. If you are a main stream student, you are probably okay. There will be a few more kids in your classes, you will have a few less learning aids, computers and advantages, but in the end, you’ll get the education that the PCC has decided that we can afford, we expect it might be okay.
Sincerely,
Your Parents

Dear Portsmouth Homeowners:
Your houses are worth less today than they were yesterday. This trend will continue.
Thank you Larry, Cindy P, Peter M, Dan Gordon, Joe R, Karen G and all of the PCC for watching out for my finances.
I can’t wait to spend my extra $100 that I will save on taxes!
Sincerely,
Future Barrington Resident

Dear Mr. West (Future Barrington Resident)-

Your $100 will go alot further in Barrington because the teachers there pay a more reasonable amount of their own health coverage.

Alan Corcoran has inspired me weigh in. Dan Gordon has skin in the game, as he is running for office, but should have let Susan Lewis just vent to the others here who are like minded. So many postings here which equate declining the referendum to "gutting" the schools (leaving only $35M, not Zero) to try to continue the same education our kids were getting anyway. I am not against fair teacher compensation, just this referendum. Obviously the SOS crowd is an "end justifies the means" crowd who believe in speaking up until you disagree with them. Every district voted this down, not a single passed it. SOS, look at your operations model, figure out what the voters already figured out, and fix what is broken before asking the rest of us to push harder.
Heather, thank you for the words which I understand and agree with.
Scot, don't feel free to speak for anyone else but yourself. Your posts are not constructive, and detract from legitimate points your side may make. Although you do confirm my own observations.

Speak for yourself Frank, I found Scot's post to be very informative and constructive. You ask that Susan Lewis should be allowed to vent but Mr. West is not. The things you said about the SOS seem equally true about the PCC, but I guess that would matter what side you see it from.

Good morning - Barrington teachers pay 20% for their healthcare. Regarding the model, dedectable and restrictions ... I will be happy to call their school dept today to ask.

Since the Town will be negotiating a new contract at some point - has anyone one the School Committee canvassed the state's 32 school districts to inquire about these very questions? I would love to see the results of such a comparison posted on the Patch.

BTW ... Why does a state the size of RI need 32 -YES- 32 school districts? How much money could be saved by cutting to at least 5 Districts (one for each county) ...

Barrington is a lovely town with a fine school system for those considering relocation. Interestingly enough, they also have higher graduation rates, meet or exceed Portsmouth in standardized test results(if you consider that an appropriate measure), and pay approximately $1,000 less per pupil than Portsmouth residents. The passion being expressed here in this forum shows that we are all concerned citizens, regardless of which group we support.

The Portsmouth school department took the wrong approach on this one... I think they put their eggs all in one basket and really thought the referendum would pass. The way this would have passed would have been to start working with the money they had on the first day of school. Make all the cuts that needed to be made. Parents were not feeling the pressure/consequences of their actions and most likely don't believe that they are going to loose much. Take away the football program and the music and arts and guaranteed this would have passed parents would have been raging.

Reading all these posts, I have just one thought... I honestly don't recognize my town anymore. This isn't the Portsmouth I grew up in, where everybody cared about raising our kids and building a community. The generation that built Portsmouth High School (my parents) would be ashamed of the way things are today.

I posted yesterday. Does'nt anybody care that we are poisoning our children with mercury in the flu shot?

Something VERY interesting to share with everyone. The person here that calls himself 'Portsmouth Concerned Citizen', is also registered here as 'bigmanny', and 'Stuart'. By tracking the IP address, this is the same person that calls himself 'bigmanny', 'mannyfavish', and 'unionteacher100' on EastBayRI.com.

The deceit is easy to see as he is clearly against the PCC, but calls himself 'Portsmouth Concerned Citizen'. Watch carefully. It's only a matter of time before he can't control himself and starts spewing the same nastiness as he does at EastBayRI.com

Bruce I hear what you are saying and as someone who works with children I can see the amount autism spectrum related cases has risen sharply. I do think that here has to be something unnatural leading to this increase. I know from the signs that I see on the nursery property that this is an area dear to your heart. I think the schools need to figure out the best ways to educate kids with autism and they all need to realize that no two kids with autism are the same.

as For you JOHN you are way of base and would not have the IP address of anyone writing here.

Susan...Thanks for your comment and excellent question. Suggestions: 1. Don't get the flu shot with mercury. 2. Educate yourself and others about mercury as well as other neurotoxins (aluminum) in vaccines. Good websites - age of autism.org and nvic.org. Good book - The Vaccine Book by Dr. Bob Sears. 3. Understand that the CDC, AAP, and RI DOH regularly lie to us about vaccine risks and safety studies. 4. Realize that vaccines are NOT mandatory for a child to go to school. All you need to do is ask for a religious exemption. It does not matter what your religion is and they should not be asking you that question anyway. 5. Realize that you cannot trust your doctor because he is certainly conflicted and usually believes the lies of the CDC and AAP. I sometimes (not very often) feel sorry for pediatricians because if they were to face the reality that are a major cause of the autism, add, adhd epidemics, I can't imagine how they would deal with that especially since I'm sure they decided to practice medicine with the best of intentions. 6. Unfortunately, this leaves the parent to decide the vaccine schedule for their child as well as the fate of their health. With some reading, asking your doctor the right questions, mothers using their gut instincts, and not succombing to the fear tactics or bullying of the CDC, your doctor, RI DOH, or the school nurse parents can make the right decisions for their child.

Tarradiddle... Thank you for your sensitivity, but you will find me hard to offend. I would not have posted what I did unless I felt it relevant. In the 1980's the autism rate was 1 in 10,000. Now, it is 1 in 100. From 1992 to 2002 the autism rate went up 1900%. Strangely, between 1989 and 1991, the CDC increased the number of vaccines from 8 to 20, almost tripling the amount of mercury they exposed our children to. The estimates to care for a person with autism over their lifetime ranges from 3 to 6 million dollars. The folks more familiar than I with the school budget can tell you the % increase over the last 10 yrs of the special ed budget and the %age of the whole budget. I can tell you a student in special ed costs far more to educate than the average student. What is really scary, is that these special ed students are being dramatically underserved in our schools and the budget should probably be triple what it is now. Bottom line - if we didn't poison these kids in the 1990's, we would have this high special ed population. There never would have been a need for the tent meeting, the latest referendum, or for this town to be torn apart by school budget issues. We continue to allow our children and unborn babies to be poisoned with mercury and other neurotoxins. If we w0uld stop this, we would have less students in special ed and a smaller budget. I know this sounds like the long way around the issue, but sadly, it is the truth!

bigmanny... You confirm what many others who work with kids have said. If you ask the AAP, they disrespect you and you fellow workers observations and tell you the rate is the same and we are just better at diagnosing autism. This is another one of their lies. Your comment is correct. These kids can learn, have special talents, and we need to figure out the best ways to teach them. I'd like to add one caveat. These kids are SICK! No one can learn well when they are sick. Children with autism suffer from a variety of health issues that mainstream medicine has chosen to ignore. These include: gastrointestinal issues, auto immune disorders, seizures, oxidative stress, and chronic inflamation. When these issues are treated, the symtoms of autism can be reduced and their learning capabilities increased. This is called biomedical intervention. We treated my son with a special diet, vitamins and minerals, and a variety of supplements. This was not an easy process, but as his health improved, his symptoms disappeared. So much so, that my son is considered one of the fortunate to be "recovered" from autism. Recovered means he no longer falls under the criteria necessary to be diagnosed with autism. This is the great hope for all the children currently suffering from autism and related disorders if mainstream medicine could accept the responsibility of what they have done and change their course to one of healing these children.